The Plantation Singers at the Dock Street Theater

The Plantation Singers, one of the Southeast's most acclaimed a cappella groups, will bring the rich and energetic performances of Gullah spirituals to The Charleston Festival. Clap your hands and feel the spirit during their energetic performances and learn more about the rich Gullah culture. On March 21, The Plantation Singers will perform at the historic Dock Street Theater! 

More about the Dock Street Theatre: 

On February 12, 1736 the Dock Street Theatre opened on the corner of Church Street and Dock Street (now known as Queen Street), the Historic Dock Street Theatre was the first structure in America built exclusively to be used for theatrical performances. Flora, the first opera performance in America, took place at the Historic Dock Street Theatre.

The original Dock Street Theatre was probably destroyed by the Great Fire of 1740 which destroyed many of the buildings in Charleston's French Quarter. In 1809, the Planter's Hotel was built on this site and in 1835 the wrought iron balcony and sandstone columns of the Church Street facade were added. Robert Smalls, an African-American Civil War hero, who stole a steamboat in the harbor and sailed it out past the Confederate-held Ft. Sumter and turned it over to the blockading Union Fleet, served as a waiter in the hotel's dining room prior to the war.

After the Civil War, the Planter's Hotel fell into disrepair and was slated for demolition. But in 1935, after Milton Pearlstine made the property available to the City of Charleston and at the urging of Mayor Burnet Maybank and other notable citizens, the original building became a Depression Era WPA (Works Progress Administration) project.

Modeled on eighteenth century London playhouses by Charleston architect Albert Simons, the present Dock Street Theatre's new stage house and auditorium were built in the hotel's courtyard. The local carpenters who were put to work as a part of this Depression era relief effort utilized locally grown and milled native black cypress for the beautiful warm wooden interior. Following this $350,000 renovation, The Historic Dock Street Theatre's second grand opening took place on November 26, 1937.

The Historic Dock Street Theatre reopened for the third time on March 18, 2010 after a three year, $19 million dollar renovation by the City of Charleston. This extensive full-scale renovation brought the historic theatre into the 21st century with state-of-the-art lighting and sound, modern heating and air conditioning, and new restrooms and seating. In addition, the theatre was made seismically secure and fully handicapped accessible. Extensive sound-proofing was added to ensure that outside noises no longer intruded on performances inside. Now owned and managed by the City of Charleston, the Historic Dock Street Theatre (soon to enter its fourth century as the heart of Charleston's artistic life) is home to many of the City's finest cultural institutions including Charleston Literary Festival, MOJA Festival, Spoleto Festival USA and more.